Cow-The Universal Symbol of Motherhood.

The cow is considered as - The Universal symbol of Motherhood by Hindus. For Hindus, any day is an auspicious day for Go Pooja (Cow worship).

The scriptures say the following about the cow, “Tvam Mata Sarva Devanam.” – Means you are the mother of all demigods as well (33 crore demigods). The cow nourishes all in this universe and that is why she is called mother. She is the mother of all demigods, sages, humans and all living entities on the face of the earth. The main prana (living force) for all living entities are received from the mother cow. It is a source of nourishment for humans and earth and thereby the crops.

The cow is an ideal animal in Lord Bramha’s creation. As per spiritual science, the four Purushārthas, namely, Dharma, Artha, Kāma, and Moksha can be acquired by serving the cow. While praising the cow, the principal Deities, namely, Bramha, Vishṇu and Shiva have said “O Destroyer of sins! You are the mother of all Deities. You are the reason for yagnya (sacrificial fire), among all Tirthas (Holy places), you are the holiest. I pay my obeisance to you”.

So cow is not a mere animal for Hindus. As I mentioned above they consider cow as the abode of 33 crore Hindu Deities, hence cow is considered as sacred in Hindu Dharma. Cow has been treated as auspicious and also as a symbol of compassion and piousness. Cow is treated as the highest and most pious animal and is given the utmost importance, being at the apex in the Animal world. The belief is that one can attain salvation (Moksha) by worshipping the cow and serving her. Both Lord Krishna and Balram spearheaded the “Cow worship and preservation” culture. The first Jain Tirthankar, Adinath was also named as Vrashbh meaning ‘Oxen Sorub’. Of all beings, the Cow is treated, in India, as the most sacred and sanctified. This sense of the unique sacredness of the Cow is expressed in the works of ancient Indian Rishis… like in the Vedas, Smritis, Srutis and Puranas, etc., as well as in later literature and folklore.

So highly were cows held in esteem by the society that there were days fixed in the yearly calendar for the exclusive worship of the cow and that tradition follows even today. Dhanteras is a day when cows are worshipped along with Dhanwantari the Sage and the deity of medicine. Not only cows, but bulls also, were, and still are, the objects of worship.

The Rigveda says that the cow is like a mother for all those who are bachelors till the age of 25 years, a daughter for those who are 26 years old and a sister for those who are 48 years old.

Attached are some pictures and a video of us feeding cows.

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